


A slippery slope to forgetting your lover

by paleredheadinascifi



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Boys In Love, Competitive Patrick is an idiot, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort but with literally almost zero angst, I feel like this maybe sounds angsty but it really isn't, Idiots in Love, M/M, Memory Loss, Skiing, Temporary Amnesia, david loves him anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21777631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paleredheadinascifi/pseuds/paleredheadinascifi
Summary: Patrick gets a concussion while skiing and blanks on the last six months. Unfortunately for David, that leaves him on the side of a mountain, in high panic mode, with an injured boyfriend who doesn't remember that they ever got together. David reminds him. Every. Five. Minutes.David really isn't known for his patience, so it all seems like a bit of a cruel joke if you ask him.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 44
Kudos: 348





	A slippery slope to forgetting your lover

❄️

David wasn’t a _skier_ , but he knew how to ski. He was taught by ex-Olympians and world class ski instructors on only the finest slopes of Austria. It wasn’t something he did by choice, but when the moment called for it, the boy could ski.

Patrick, on the other hand, considered himself a skier. As a teen, he’d spent endless hours up on the mountain, racing friends down the slopes and causing general mischief. He’d felt free up there – the frozen wind in his face, the adrenaline coursing through his veins – he’d loved it. It had been a while since he’d heard the click of his boot locking into the binding. He’d missed it, and given that hiking wasn’t an option for the winter, he had big plans to dust off the cobwebs and click into his skis. 

Going off of everything Patrick knew about David, he had figured he’d be heading up the chairlift alone. But when Patrick had mentioned as such to David, he was met with an eye roll, a long-winded story about learning to ski with the Schwarzenegger children, and a dramatic vow to prove Patrick wrong.

There weren’t many instances where Patrick was happy to be wrong, but this was one of them. A triumphant return to the slopes all whilst subtly showing off in front of his boyfriend? Yes, please.

So when the pair finally found the time to make the drive to Mount Elm Ski Area and David gracefully and efficiently flew down the mountain in front of him, Patrick felt Competitive Patrick start to wake inside him.

It took all of 30 minutes from the moment they arrived for Competitive Patrick to push things a _smidge_ too far. A colossal mistake, if you will.

They’d come across a scattering of jumps, each increasing in size and difficulty as they went. David had gone over a few of the smaller ones, Patrick following close behind. When the inclines increased to a steep, sharp monster of a wall, David didn’t even momentarily entertain the idea, slowly gliding right past and around them.

One of the many things you learn when taught by Olympic-level athletes is the importance of knowing your skill level and sticking to it. It was the smart thing to do.

Regular Patrick was a pretty smart guy. Unfortunately, Regular Patrick wasn’t calling the shots anymore.

Competitive Patrick was grasping a ski pole in each hand and was looking for a chance to prove himself. “I’m going for the last jump, David!” He called, picking up speed.

“WHAT! WHY!?” David yelled back, slowing his descent to provide a clear view of his boyfriend heading balls to the wall towards a pro-level jump.

Patrick carved back and forth skilfully as he progressed towards the steep jump. He nailed the face of the beastly incline, was hurled 2-3 metres in the air, obviously lost control while in the air, and disappeared over the horizon.

“PATRICK!! Patrick!!? OH my god. Oh my GOD! Honey!?” David shrieked into the general direction Patrick had just disappeared into. He flew around the jump and found Patrick sprawled in the snow, having been thrown a good 12 metres from the jump. David collapsed down next to him, surveying his whole body for signs of injury. “Patrick! Are you hurt?” David asked, feeling entirely unequipped to deal with the trauma of watching his idiot boyfriend die on the side of a mountain. Patrick just kind of blinked up at David vacantly, seemingly trying to process what had just happened and irritatingly answering none of his questions. ‘Patrick? _Are you hurt??_ ” David asked again, this time with more force.

Patrick just groaned and placed his head between his knees. “Hold on, I’m just coming to,” he said.

David frowned. It seemed like he had been conscious the whole time, he was fairly sure he’d _been_ to, but he wasn’t a doctor. “I - - oh god, okay,” David nodded, rubbing Patrick’s back in soothing circles.

“Hold on, I’m just coming to,” Patrick said again, and David realised with a start that he might be trying to joke with him. His hand stilled on Patrick’s back.

“If you’re messing with me right now this isn’t funny,” David warned. In all honesty he kind of _wanted_ Patrick to be messing with him, he knew what to do with that. Get mad, ski away in a huff, withhold make-outs until Patrick made it up to him with baked goods and coffee – he knows how that works. He really wanted it to be that, but he also knew Patrick, and Patrick wouldn’t joke about this. Not when he knew how fast David’s heart would be beating in his chest and how many _‘what ifs’_ would be running through his mind at a million miles a second.

David got his answer when Patrick stared off distantly at a tree and announced, “hold on, I’m just coming to. Evidently I’ve hurt my left hip.”

“Alright. Okay. Are you okay?? Patrick, look at me. Is anything broken?” David questioned, thankful that Patrick at least seemed to be adding to his six-word vocabulary.

“Well, my hip hurts,” Patrick frowned, rubbing at his hip with one hand and his head with the other.

David gently ran his fingers over Patrick’s hair, feeling for any wounds or bleeding, thankfully coming up empty. There was still absolutely no way Patrick had been tossed that far in the air and _not_ hit his head on the way down. The whole ‘vacant confusion’ thing was also fairly strong evidence in that regard. “Fuck, okay, how many fingers am I holding up?” David tried, shoving two fingers in front of Patrick’s face. Patrick squinted at them.

“I can’t really tell, your gloves are too bulky,” Patrick declared.

David groaned. “Oh god, I don’t know what you’re supposed to do when they _don’t know how many fingers_. They never tell you what to do after that!” He shrieked.

David watched as Patrick’s face blanked again in response, a completely vacant expression covering his features. David felt his stomach drop.

“Patrick? Hey, Patrick, you with me?”

Patrick blinked at him. “Hold on, I’m just coming to. Evidently I’ve hurt my left hip,” he explained.

“Oh…kay? Okay. Are you alright though? Does anything else hurt?” David tried desperately.

“Umm, my head. My ribs. Maybe I can stand…” Patrick offered, seeming to register the panic in David’s entire being.

David shot a hand out to stop him before he moved wrong and broke his neck or whatever the reason is you’re not supposed to move injured people.“No! Don’t. Don’t try to stand, I’ll just…figure out how to get help. How do I…how does one get help on a mountain?” He was really just thinking out loud at this point, Patrick had made it very clear he was going to be no help.

Patrick shook his head and winced again in pain. “I just need a minute, then we can keep going,” he proposed, as if he hadn’t just torpedoed off a ramp like a Canadian Evel Knievel.

“Um, okay, no. That’s not happening. Is it like a thing where you call the mountain helper people? Do you know what number I’m supposed to call? Patrick?” David tried. He was trying so hard, but he was so far out of his depth here.

Patrick blinked at him.

“Hold on, I’m just coming to. Evidently I’ve hurt my left hip,” he offered.

“I…yeah, you said,” David nodded slowly.

Again, Patrick seemed to take in the panic on David’s face, reading him like a book he’d read a million times. “It’s okay David, I think I can stand,” he said gently.

“No! No, no. No one is standing!” David pleaded. “I’m just - - just give me two seconds to think.” He just needed Patrick to stop acting weird as fuck for two minutes so he could figure out how to get help.

“Ow!” Patrick yelped.

David’s heart somehow started beating even faster. He was about one stressor away from passing out and joining Patrick in his faraway vacant land. “Honey, are you okay? What’s happening?” He probed, grabbing hold of Patrick by the shoulders to ground them both.

When David met Patrick with the most reassuring expression he could muster, Patrick’s eyes were huge and his face had broken out into a grin.

“You called me _Honey_!” He chuckled nervously.

“I…yeah?” David frowned. He admittedly wasn’t that into pet names, but Honey was their go-to.

Patrick’s smile had faded into something else, something sadder, and David hated it. “It’s okay, David. I won’t tell anyone,” he offered quietly.

This time David blinked at Patrick. “Tell anyone _what_?” He asked, a mix of confusion, anxiety and frustration that was surely taking years from his life.

“That you called me Honey by accident,” Patrick explained softly.

David shook his head, confused. So confused. “It wasn’t an accident. I call you Honey all the time.”

Patrick barked a laugh and appeared to immediately regret it judging by the way he groaned and gripped at his ribs. “What!? No you don’t. When?” He prodded, mirroring David’s confusion.

They were both just kind of _frowning_ at each other like the other was speaking complete gibberish.

“What is _happening_ right now?” David exclaimed, feeling far too much of every emotion to contain the exasperation in his tone.

Patrick blinked.

“Hold on, I’m just coming to. Evidently I’ve hurt my left hip.”

“Oh, fuck me,” David sighed.

Patrick was back to rubbing his hip and head like he’d just realised they were hurting. “That is an inappropriate thing to say to your business partner, David,” Patrick half smirked half winced.

“Good thing you’re my boyfriend, too, then,” David replied.

Patrick _gasped._ “I’m your _what?_ ”

David was suddenly awash with an inkling as to what was happening. “What’s today’s date?” He asked softly. Cautiously.

Patrick’s eyebrows knitted together at the sudden change of topic, but he answered dutifully nonetheless. “Uh, June…2nd?” He offered.

Alarm bells, warning sounds and evacuation sirens started to scream through David’s head. It was, obviously, not June at all. They were on a mountain covered in snow with skis on, for one thing.

June was 6 whole months ago. June was _before_ David’s birthday. June was before David had kissed Patrick and before they’d spent weeks fumbling through the beginnings of a new relationship and _before_ they’d figured it all out and were both the happiest they had been in maybe forever.

“Ah. Okay.” David nodded, suddenly nauseous.

“What? David, what is it?” Patrick asked anxiously, probably because of the way David had gone pale and was kind of swaying where he sat.

“It’s okay, Patrick. You’re gonna be okay, but it’s not June, it’s December. You hit your head and apparently don’t remember the last 6 months. Which is…well, it’s kind of freaking me out, but I am trying to remain calm. Now that I’ve said it I realise I probably shouldn’t be telling you that I’m freaking out, but it’s not like you will remember this in five minutes, so, whatever, right?” David word-vomited all over his poor injured boyfriend.

“Oh. That’s not good,” Patrick agreed.

“No,” David confirmed.

“So six months from now you’re my boyfriend?” Patrick asked quietly after a minute.  
  


“Um, I mean I hope so, but I’m also your boyfriend right now,” David affirmed. He wasn’t going to let any version of Patrick think that he wasn’t. 

Patrick was smiling sheepishly at the snow, and then up at David. He was kind of staring at David, eyes tracking to his lips and lingering. “If you’re my boyfriend, does that mean I can kiss you?” He asked softly. It was the kind of anxious confidence David hadn’t seen since the first few weeks of their relationship. He forgot how adorable this version of Patrick could be. 

David huffed a laugh. “It’s not our most pressing concern at this very moment, but yes. In general, yes.”

“I want to right now,” Patrick said. David _should_ have been trying to call for help, or administering some kind of first aid, but who was he to deny his crippled boyfriend his dying wish on the side of this godforsaken mountain?

David leant down and pressed his lips to Patrick’s. Patrick _moaned_ and reached to pull David in closer. “Oh my god,” he whispered against David’s lips, claiming them a second time.

When David pulled away, Patrick was frowning and blinking away a vacant stare.

“Hold on, I’m just coming to. Evidently I’ve hurt my left hip.” 

David sighed.

“…Did you just kiss me?” Patrick frowned, rubbing at his hip and head in utter confusion.

“Yes. How’re your ribs feeling?” David asked, trying to stop the conversation from veering off course again. He _really_ needed to get help.

“Um…oh. They do kind of hurt, actually,” Patrick confirmed, gently prodding at his ribs through his skiwear. “How did you know that?”

“You told me,” David replied with as much patience as he could muster.

“Uh, I don’t think I did. When?” Patrick asked.

“Mmhmm, you definitely did. Are you warm enough?” David tried, attempting to change the subject and failing yet again.

Patrick was zeroed in on David. All of his attention pointed directly at his face, squinting suspiciously with just a dash of hope. “Why did you kiss me?”

David looked at his boyfriend, crumpled over on the side of a mountain, more concerned about the fact that David had kissed him than the state of his wounded body. He loved him. They hadn’t said it yet, but it had been clawing its way up from the depths of David’s chest everyday for the last few weeks, demanding to be heard. “Because I love you,” he said simply.

Patrick choked on a sputtering cough, covering his mouth with his gloved hand and grimacing at the pain. “ _Ow, ow,”_ he coughed. _“_ Hang on, David, what do you mean?”

“I kissed you because I’m in love with you and you nearly fell off a fucking mountain and I didn’t like it!” David exclaimed, his wild gesticulations narrowly avoiding adding to Patrick’s injuries.

At that, Patrick seemed to finally take in their surroundings, eyeing the snow around them questioningly, clocking the skis still attached to his boots. “Oh, I’m dreaming,” Patrick declared.

“No, you’re probably just concussed.”

“Okay,” Patrick shrugged, apparently resigned to the fact that none of this made any sense. “But, David?” Patrick whispered, like he was about to let him in on a secret. “I'm in love with you, too.”

“You fellas alright over there?” A voice called from further up the slope.

It turned out to be a ski instructor who took one look at Patrick and called for the ski patrol. David watched on as a ski patroller came to their rescue, manoeuvring Patrick carefully onto the rescue toboggan. Once they were safely down the mountain, everyone (except a Patrick who was just coming to with an evidently hurt hip) was in agreement that an ambulance needed to be called. David held Patrick’s hand throughout the ride to the hospital, which Patrick commented on with a soft smile five times during their journey. David just held on tighter.

❄️❄️❄️

At the hospital, Patrick was whisked away for scans and x-rays, leaving David to hyperventilate by himself in the waiting room. A doctor eventually found him halfway through his sixth vending machine chocolate bar and explained that Patrick would need to be kept overnight for observation. He had a concussion, a broken pelvis and some fractured ribs. She explained that Patrick’s brain just needed to rest, and that he was expected to make a full recovery, memories included. David laugh-sobbed at that part. He’d spent the last few hours spiralling through thoughts of Patrick never remembering any of their firsts, any of the perfect moments David kept locked up in a bullet-proof box in the middle of his heart. This was good.

Patrick was going to be okay.

The doctor ushered him through the halls of the tiny rural hospital, again going over what he could expect over the next few days. “When he has a lapse in memory, it’s best if you can gently remind him of the truth. I know it gets repetitive, but it will help his brain piece together what is real,” she explained. “Will you be able to stay with him overnight? He needs someone with him to make sure he doesn’t try to leave. There will be night staff here with you as well, of course, but we’re a little under-staffed at the moment,” she said, opening the door to a small room to find Patrick sitting up in the hospital bed, wearily eyeing the nurse who was patiently explaining he’d had a fall.

“Yes, yeah, I’m staying,” David nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat at seeing Patrick in a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors and an IV. He hated it.

“Patrick, you have a visitor. Your boyfriend is here to see you,” the doctor announced, gesturing to David.

David did his best to plaster a reassuring smile on his face. “Hey, there you are,” he greeted softly.

Patrick flicked a hand up in a wave and shot David an amused smirk. “Oh, David’s not my boyfriend, we’re just business partners,” he explained with a small laugh. Both the doctor and the nurse just smiled politely.

“The nurses station is just down the hall, press the call button if you need anything,” the doctor directed at David. “I’ll be back in to see you in the morning, Patrick,” she finished. With that, the doctor and the nurse shuffled out of the room, leaving enough space for David to plonk down into the armchair beside Patrick’s bed. 

“Sorry about that, I don’t know why she thought that we were together,” Patrick apologised sheepishly.

David chuckled.

Patrick watched him suspiciously. “Why are you laughing?” He pressed.

“You’re cute,” David shrugged, taking Patrick’s hand in his.

Patrick stared at their adjoined hands in silence. “I – I’m what?” He eventually stuttered.

David smiled. “You’re cute. Did the doctor tell you about your concussion?”

Patrick was still eyeing him quizzically, a small, confused frown set between his brows. “Yeah, she said I must have hit my head pretty hard. The uh, the nurse made me a sign,” he said, pointing at the printout stuck to the foot of the bed. “Apparently I keep forgetting things.”

The sign was just an A4 piece of paper, the most important details had been underlined.

Patrick Brewer

Today is December 12 2017

You are at Mount Elm Hospital

You had a fall while skiing

You have a concussion and a broken pelvis

“Well that was very nice of her,” David smiled.

Patrick stared at the sign intently for a while before whispering, “oh.”

He turned to look at David. “David, I have a concussion and a broken pelvis,” he announced.

“Mm. You do. How many times have you read that?” He asked, a tiny smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“Just the once.”

It took 40 minutes and five more versions of Patrick not knowing they were together for David to stand up with a huff, Patrick tracking his every move, and grab a sharpie from the table. He leant over the bed and amended the sign. Patrick grinned at him from the bed.

Patrick Brewer

Today is December 12 2017

You are at Mount Elm Hospital

You had a fall while skiing

You have a concussion and a broken pelvis

_David is your boyfriend_

By the time he’d settled back down in the seat beside Patrick’s head, Patrick had reset.

“David?”

“Mmm?”

“You’re my boyfriend?” He asked, trying to read David’s face. He was fluent.

David smiled, fond and amused. “Yes, baby. You hit your head, you have a concussion. The doctor said you should remember everything in the next day or so. Just try to rest,” he explained softly, reaching out to gently run his fingers through Patrick’s short hair.

“Oh. Okay,” Patrick accepted, smiling up at David with a blindingly tender expression. “I’m happy you’re my boyfriend, David,” he whispered. Even a concussion and a broken pelvis couldn’t stop Patrick’s unflinching honesty from shining through.

“Me too,” David grinned.

Patrick was silent for a while after that, which was part of the pattern. He’d go quiet, get that vacant look on his face, blink a bunch, and then say “David?” like he was surprised to see him sitting there. He braced himself for it.

“David?” Patrick asked.

David took in a deep breath. He loved Patrick, he really did, but he was not known for his patience. “Yes, honey, I’m your boyfriend.”

Patrick chuckled. “No, not that. I remember you saying that 30 seconds ago. Um…can you…could you tell me about it?” He asked hesitantly.

“The accident?” David assumed. He didn’t really want to relive the last day again right now, but it made sense Patrick would have questions.

“No, um, us? The…the boyfriend thing,” Patrick corrected timidly.

David let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. _This_ he could talk about forever. “Oh, yeah. Yes. Sure. What do…what do you want to know?”

“Everything.” Patrick declared with a little more confidence.

“Right, okay. From the start, I guess,” David muttered awkwardly. It seemed wrong to be telling Patrick the story he’d told so many times. Patrick was always right beside him, cutting in with his own corrections and defending the almost misfire of their first date. “We had our first date on my birthday, but I didn’t know it was a date, ‘cause you didn’t _tell_ _me_ ,” he began, looking pointedly at Patrick. “You asked me out to the café for dinner, and because you hadn’t mentioned the _date_ element of the dinner, I’d invited Stevie to come, too,” Patrick snorted at that. “But you turned up dressed all handsome and with a very nicely wrapped gift, and I realised we were both idiots,” David continued.

“The receipt. From the first sale at the store,” Patrick whispered.

“Yeah,” David smiled. “You remember?”

“Yeah. Well, no. I don’t remember giving it to you, but I remember saving it. I remember wanting to,” he admitted.

“Well you did, and Stevie left, and it was the best first date I’ve ever had,” David finished.

“Did I kiss you?” Patrick asked, his eyes were bright. Probably too bright for someone with a concussion.

David grinned. “You tried. I think you probably would have gotten there if I hadn’t kissed you first. It was also the best first kiss I’ve ever had. I have it on good authority that it was also the best first kiss _you_ have ever had,” David added smugly.

“Wish I could remember,” Patrick mumbled.

Careful not to pull out any of the wires attaching Patrick to the various beeping machines, David leaned over the small distance between the chair and the bed and did his best to recreate the kiss from their first date. He brought his hand up to cup the side of Patrick’s head, and gently pressed their lips together. Much like he had all those months ago in Patrick’s car, he heard Patrick’s sharp intake of breath as their lips met. It was brief, it was sweet, it was perfect. Patrick’s eyes were still closed when David pulled away.

“Oh. Wow. Uh, yes, yep. Your source was correct,” Patrick stammered.

“Mmm, they’re a very reliable source,” David smirked.

In an instant and out of nowhere there were tears running down Patrick’s face and David felt his heart start to tear in two. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. What is it? Are you in pain? I can go get the nurse,” he offered, clambering up on the bed beside Patrick to gather him up in his arms.

“No, no. Don’t go. I just, I’m happy,” Patrick sobbed quietly, grasping tightly at David. David readjusted them on the small bed, positioning Patrick to lie against his chest, David’s arms running up and down his sides in soothing motions. “I must be so happy with you,” Patrick admitted into David’s sweater. “I wanted this. So much.”

David smiled and kissed the top of Patrick’s head. “You’re such a sap,” he laughed, tears stinging at his own eyes.

Patrick laughed.

“I wanted this, too,” David confessed. It didn’t seem like much of a confession, but he felt like Patrick needed to hear it. “And we are. We’re so happy, it’s kind of gross,” he grinned.

When Patrick didn’t say anything, David thought he’d maybe fallen asleep.

“David?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re my boyfriend?”

David laughed and pressed another kiss to his hair. “Yes, honey. I don’t snuggle in hospital beds for just anybody.”

“Oh. Okay. I’m very happy you’re my boyfriend,” Patrick said.

“Me too.”

❄️❄️❄️

The next morning Patrick was still patchy on some older memories, but his short term memory was back in action.

David would catch him smiling dopily off into the distance, and every time he’d ask, Patrick would describe some new part of their relationship he had just recalled.

The doctor, true to her word, came back to check on Patrick, and he was discharged by lunchtime with pain killers and a referral to a physical therapist for the broken pelvis.

David took one for the team and caught a bus back to the ski area to reunite with Patrick’s car and loop back around to pick him up. It took a bit of shuffling around in the seat for Patrick to get comfortable, but they eventually made it back on the road, headed for Schitt’s Creek.

Patrick slid his hand across the console to rest on David’s thigh. “Thanks for staying, I know you don’t like hospitals. Or sick people. Or germs in general,” he said, squeezing David’s thigh for emphasis.

David huffed. “Well I wasn’t going to leave you in a creepy, tiny hospital by yourself. I’m not a complete monster,” he declared.

“So… I didn’t make a complete fool of myself?” Patrick asked cautiously, studying David closely to read the truth from his reaction.

David laughed and covered Patrick’s hand with his own. “No, you were your regular, alarmingly sweet self. It was kind of fun to talk to past you. I found out some things,” he teased.

“Oh god,” Patrick groaned, eyes wide with terror.

“You liiikkkkeedd me. You had a crushhhh on meeee,” David sung gleefully.

Patrick chuckled, and swatted at David’s shoulder. “We’ve been together for months, I think that’s fairly obvious at this point,” he grumbled.

“You kept the receipt,” David grinned.

“You already knew that,” Patrick threw back.

“You wanted to give it to meeee.” David crooned.

“I did give it to you,” Patrick laughed.

“I know you did. Past you was very impressed.”

“Hmm,” Patrick hummed, his smile small and a little proud. 

“We essentially just had the same three conversations over and over. Besides, I wouldn’t hold you accountable for anything you said with a concussion,” David shrugged.

“Okay, so there was something else,” Patrick stated, staring at David expectantly. 

“I’m just really glad you’re okay, that’s all that matters,” David tried. He needed to sleep for a week before he was ready for this conversation a second time.

“So there’s nothing else? I didn’t say anything else? You have to tell me,” Patrick prodded. David kept his eyes pointedly on the road ahead. “David!”

“Fine! Fine.” David sighed dramatically. “On the mountain, before the ski patrol got there, and I might add, _right after you hit your head,_ you said that you loved me. But you literally had a concussion so it doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t count, we can just forget it, but you wanted to know,” he blabbered, his knuckles white against the steering wheel.

Patrick was silent for about five beats too long. “Huh,” he said finally.

“What?” David groaned.

“So I hit my head, broke my pelvis, didn’t remember we were together, and the first thing I said was that I loved you?” Patrick confirmed. He was met with an eye roll.

“It wasn’t the _first thing_ you said, I don’t remember when exactly you said it. I was very stressed, I thought you were dying,” David huffed.

“Right. Right. So nothing…prompted me to say it? It was just…out of the blue?” Patrick questioned slyly, a grin threatening to break free at the corners of his mouth.

“ _Patrick_ , I told you it’s fine. We don’t need to analyse it, it doesn’t count. You asked me to tell you so I did,” David said, still avoiding eye contact. Which, given that he was driving, he didn’t think should really be considered suspicious.

Patrick shook his head. “No, no. I didn’t say it doesn’t count. I need more information to determine if it should count or not. I need context. I need you to set the scene,” Patrick teased. “Like what were we talking about before I said it? Was I saying it in a “I just fell and hit my head and you’re the only person here to help me not die on this mountain, _I love you_ ” kind of way or in a “I’ve known I’ve loved you since the day you walked into Ray’s house but I didn’t want to scare you off by telling you too soon but it seems silly not to do it right here right now on this mountain where I’ve just hit my head, _I love you_ ” kind of way?” Patrick asked casually. 

“The latter,” David whispered, his heart beating out of his chest for the hundredth time in 24 hours.

“Oh. Okay, it counts then,” Patrick shrugged.

“You said it because I said it!” David blurted, all in one short exhale. “You asked why I was kissing you, and I told you it was because I love you and you nearly fell of the mountain and I was really, really scared. And then…um, that’s when you said it, too,” he confessed. He was _sweating_ now. His heart was beating out of his chest, he could barely breathe and he was _sweating_.

“Ah, see that makes more sense,” Patrick grinned, his hand squeezing David’s thigh firmly. “Considering that past-me couldn’t even work up the courage to kiss you and all.”

“Yeah, well past-you was very happy about it,” David grumbled.

“Not as happy as present me,” Patrick countered.

“No?” David asked, small and quiet.

“No way.” Patrick declared with all the confidence in the world. He watched with amusement as David battled the smile tugging at his mouth, twisting it to the side of his face and biting on his lip. “Hey, David?”

“God, you’re going to need to not say “Hey, David?” or “David?” for at least a week, you’ve hit your quota for the month. I’m gonna have nightmares,” David shuddered.

“Okay, but I love you,” Patrick said.

David let his eyes roam from the road for just a fraction of a second to meet Patrick’s gaze. He was met with just So. Much. Love.

He groaned with all the appropriate melodrama. “Fine. Even though you were an idiot to do that stupid jump and I nearly had to watch you die on the side of a frozen fucking mountain, I love you, too. I love you so much,” David professed. And either the road was suddenly hazy or tears were blurring his vision. He wiped quickly and _casually_ at his eyes.

“I can’t believe past-me got to hear that before I did,” Patrick grinned, voice full of awe.

“It was technically present you,” David corrected. He’d had a lot of time to think through the logistics of past-Patrick, amnesia-Patrick and present-Patrick. He loved them all. 

“No, I don’t remember it. It’s not fair,” Patrick objected.

“Wait, so mine doesn’t count but yours does??” David squawked.

“I think so, yes,” Patrick nodded seriously.

“How is that fair? You only said it because I did!” David demanded.

“It only counts if the person you said it to remembers,” he explained.

“I don’t think it works like that. You just don’t want Stevie to tease you because I said it first,” David grinned.

“You only said it first because you didn’t think I’d remember!” Patrick threw back.

“You don’t remember!” David protested.

“Sure, but you told me about it,” Patrick shrugged, confident in his theory.

“Ugh. It counts,” David sulked. “They both count.”

❄️

(The link to the real-life story this is based off isn't working in the notes, so I'll leave it [here](http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1270841997?profile=original) for now if you're interested)

**Author's Note:**

> This is very heavily based off of (and at times quotes) this real life story. It’s a funny story.
> 
> I really loved the concept of this story, so I hope I did it some degree of justice. Please do let me know what you think!


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